House of the week: Spaceship home in Kansas

This geometric home is unique enough to have Dorothy wondering if she’s still in Kansas.

Perched above the shores of Lake Quivira, the home looks like a spaceship that made its landing outside Kansas City.

The “Four Seasons House” was built in 1968 for John Hilburn, a lighting engineer, who collaborated with architect Albert Yanda on the design.

Beyond its somewhat unusual shape, what’s significant about the house is that it was built on a lot that reportedly was “unbuildable,” says Kansas City real estate agent Bob Myers.

“The terrain slopes very quickly, and the house is supported on three concrete piers,” explained Myers. “So technically the house is not resting on the ground but on the piers.”

Yanda was known for building homes that “couldn’t be built.” Like Frank Lloyd Wright, Yanda also had a modern and outside-the-box thinking toward structure, as well as a desire to incorporate nature into his designs, says Myers.

The home earned the title the “Four Seasons House” for its open floor plan and walls of glass that bring the outside in.

Directed toward the water, the house has views of the lake, as well as the golf course at the nearby country club. And despite the unusual exterior of the home, the floor plan is liveable with refinished hardwood floors, open spaces and 4 bedrooms.